Bittersweet Surrender
by UVBlueBerns
Summary: What would you do if the one you loved was forced into a marriage contract?


After the war he was praised. The Boy-Who-Lived became the Man-Who-Conquered, among other titles the masses felt he needed. All he wanted was to be Harry Potter, the normal wizard. But it wasn't meant to be. During the next two years after the war he was a prominent figure during the reconstruction of the wizarding world in England. If he wasn't helping negotiations between werewolves and the ministry, he was helping Aurors hunt down the remaining Death Eaters. If he wasn't helping repair Hogwarts, he was working with orphans who lost their families in the war. The community loved and looked up to him.

But all good things eventually come to an end. Somehow his actions during the war came to light and the Daily Prophet returned to their old ways, printing false stories and slandering his name. To make things worse, the Goblins had seized over seventy five percent of his family fortune due to the damages from the break in. Given the size of his family's vaults he was still able to claim a decent sized fortune, but he would have to get a job which proved to be quite difficult. He could no longer walk through Diagon Alley without stares and murmurs, reminding him greatly of most of his Hogwarts years.

All of his friends, including Ron and Hermione, had moved on and had their own jobs. Ron and Neville were partners in the Auror Corp and Hermione worked in the Ministry as a lesion to magical creatures. Ginny got over her feelings for him and played Quidditch professionally. Even Draco Malfoy had gotten his own job in the Ministry and eventually married Astoria Greengrass. It was through a brief meeting with Draco that Harry met both Astoria and her older sister Daphne.

He faintly remembered the Slytherin from his time at Hogwarts and had seen her at Hogwarts during the final battle, fighting alongside the students and teachers. But he never remembered her looking as beautiful as she did that day. Weeks later they ran into each other at the Ministry and he got the courage to ask her to coffee. Surprisingly, she agreed. Soon after they decided to date, but kept it a secret even from their friends. The last time he took a woman on a date in public the Prophet had written atrocious articles about the two. She broke it off the next day. They kept it secret for almost a year before _it_ happened.

A marriage contract.

When they found out Harry was an emotional wreck. Daphne wasn't much better. They spent night after night looking for a loophole or clause that would allow the contract to be nullified. It was iron clad. If it wasn't completed, both parties would lose their magic. Eventually the date was set but they continued to meet in secret, knowing that the day would come. At the time, neither of them cared.

OoOoO

Sunlight streamed through the windows showering the couple lying in bed with warm rays. The raven haired man lay motionless on the bed, his arms wrapped around his blonde companion.

' _Today is the day.'_ He thought sadly as he lie in bed next to the woman who had his heart. He watched her, knowing she wasn't asleep, memorizing every detail of her. From her honey colored hair, to her curvy body and slim legs, down to the patch of red skin on her stomach caused by a dark curse which still hadn't healed.

He knew she was awake, just as he was. Both wanted to stay in bed and never leave.

OoOoO

"You know I'll lose my magic if I don't fulfill this contract."

"We can move to the States and live like Muggles. Together we'll have enough to make a life for ourselves!"

A shake of the head. "What about our friends? Family?"

Shrug. "None of them matter when I'm with you…"

Silence.

"I love you. I always will."

"I know. I love you too."

"Will-will I see you at the wedding?"

"I'll be there."

OoOoO

The beautiful mansion that looked like it would be at home in the Victorian era. It was a large, white building with a covered porch which wrapped around the front and many windows looking out over the well-manicured lawn. The entire building looked brand new although it was several hundred years old and had been through two wizarding wars within the last thirty years. Behind the mansion was a massive garden full of hedges, statues, and various other things but now one could find over fifty witches and wizards rushing to finish preparing for the wedding.

From the large glass door in the back of the mansion, leading down the wide garden path was a long white carpet which stopped in front of the large water fountain. On each side of the carpet were chairs to seat the audience of over one hundred people which were rapidly filling up. Witches and wizards, with help from house elves, were hurrying to finish setting up the refreshments as well as the large tent where the dancing would take place.

The raven haired man sighed as he checked his watch. Next to him his best man nudged him. "It's almost starting. Stop fidgeting. I know you're not thrilled about this, but you'll have to deal with it."

"I just want this to be over." The dark haired man muttered. As he looked out into the audience, he saw several of his old Hogwarts classmates. Draco was with his wife, Astoria. Neville was with his date who he was surprised to see was Tracy Davis. Ron and Hermione were there as well with their daughter, Rose. He saw other faces as well. Luna Lovegood, Pansy Parkinson, then a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws he remembered from some classes.

Within minutes, music began playing and everyone rose to their feet. Walking down the aisle was his bride-to-be. He had to admit that the dress was beautiful, but it was ruined by the fake smile plastered on her face. He could tell she wasn't happy about the marriage and to be completely honest, he hated it himself. Today he wasn't marrying the woman he loved, but instead someone he considered a good friend. His eyes briefly flickered over the crowd, but he didn't see her anywhere. She didn't show up. He briefly wondered if his bride had someone like he did. Someone she had to give up because of the contract.

Looking back to his bride, he gave her a smile fake enough to rival her own. Soon she stood next to him. Vows were repeated. The kiss was very brief and then it was over. They were married. They turned, smiling to the crowd and walked down the aisle to the reception table waiting to greet their guests and receive countless congratulations. It seemed like an eternity before he could see the last of the guests in the line to their table. He almost couldn't feel his arm from the countless handshakes he'd received. Finally, the last person walked up to the table. A person he thought wasn't going to show up. The dark haired man grinned firmly shook his friends hand.

"I'm glad you came, Harry!" He exclaimed happily and pulled in the Savior for a manly hug.

The Man-Who-Conquered chuckled. "Good to see you too, Blaise." He turned to the bride and kissed her hand. "Daphne. Or should I say, Mrs. Zabini?"

"Hello, Harry." She smiled and in her new husbands mind it clicked. Just like he had Susan, she had Harry. "I'm glad you could be here."

"I wouldn't miss it." He smiled at the couple and the dark skinned man saw the smile was fake. Just like theirs. "However I must be leaving. I've got a… business trip I must attend to."

"When will we see you again?" She heard her husband ask his friend.

Emerald eyes flickered to her for a brief moment. "I don't know when I'll be back. I was thinking of taking a sabbatical to get away from all of this."

"Well, I wish you luck my friend."

"Good luck to the two of you as well, and again congratulations." Harry began walking away but turned back, catching Daphne's eyes one last time before Disapparating without a sound.

OoOoO

 **AN: I've been made aware that this store may be slightly confusing. That's the point. I've read so many stories where Harry loves a girl, but is getting married to someone else then decides to leave her at the alter. Woo, yay, happy ending! Not here. Once again I apologize if it gets confusing, but that is exactly what I wanted. Thanks for reading!**


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